He attempted humor a couple of times, but mostly, he attempted to portray the Manny call as just another decision ... He appeared to grow increasingly uncomfortable and annoyed as the inquisition continued ...

Unfortunately, the new day brought only more Beantown misery for the beleaguered Yankee skipper as Phil Hughes, the crown prince pitcher Brian Cashman would not trade under any circumstances for Johan Santana, had his second straight abbreviated and ineffective outing, Jose Molina, who has filled in so ably for Jorge Posada at catcher, pulled a hamstring, and Joba Chamberlain learned that his father had been hospitalized in critical condition in Nebraska.

And while, yes, this is only April ... there has to be a bit of an unsettling feeling among the Yankee legions about both the first-year Yankee manager and the young pitcher from whom so much is expected this season. ...

[I]t did not help Hughes that his Red Sox counterpart, 23-year-old Clay Buchholz (whom Sox GM Theo Epstein likewise deemed untouchable in parallel trade talks with the Twins for Santana) passed his first Yankees-Red Sox pressure test two nights earlier with six innings of four-hit, one-run ball.

Joe Girardi, not yet 13 games into the gig, was ... patiently answering question after question about his decision to pitch to Manny Ramirez the day before. ... That it was a game against the Red Sox ensured that Girardi would be grilled as if it were October. ...

He couldn't remember a managing decision at Florida, where he had the young, low-budget Marlins in contention until the final weeks of the 2006 season, that drew as much attention as this one did.

12 comments:

Question to the Assembled: Why didn't the Sox have Crisp steal third immediately against Posada, who obviously couldn't throw?

I suspect the reason may be one of those vile "unwritten rules," one that holds that a team shouldn't go out of its way to embarrass a respected veteran who has to play hurt. I've never read or heard any reference to such a tradition, but I've seen many situations that made me suspect it, such as the Cards and Yanks not bunting on Schilling in the 2004 post-season.

The first time I suspected this "rule"with a a catcher was in 1979. Fisk was hurt all season, thanks to the Gerbil playing him into the ground during the '78 stretch run, and missed most of the first half. When he returned, his arm was terrible, due to a tear or something. Zimmer DH'd him, but in a couple of games he was pressed into service hehind th plate and obviously couldn't throw at all, even back to the mound. he made Posada look like IRod. Amazingly, almost no runners tried to steal on him; definitely there was no effort to exploit his injury. Yet the announcers didn't mention it, the papers didn't. It was like a conspiracy.

And it must be a rule that only applies to All-Star types. In 1983, Orioles infielder Len Sakata was forced to play catcher in extra innings after Earl Weaver's pinch -hitting maneuvers got the Orioles a lead in the top of the 10th at Toronto. Tippy Martinez, trying for the save, couldn't get the ball over the plate and walked three Jays in succession. Every one of them tried to steal on Sakata, and took such ridiculous leads at first that Martinez picked each of them off, ending the inning and the game!! It was hilarious, but clearly the Jays weren't obeying any "don't humiliate the catcher" rule.

If there IS such a "Golden Rule" for Schilling-Posada-Fisk type players, it is really, really idiotic, like most of the other "unwritten rules."

Some people are speculating that Mr. Hankee staged the jersey finding due to the size of the hole that was dug (how do two guys remember the exact location of a guy they saw at work for one day over a year ago in a stadium that big?) and how pristine the jersey looked after they pulled it out.

Jeff Goldberg, Courant: "But maybe the curse worked in reverse. Maybe being entombed at Yankee Stadium is what caused Ortiz to go hitless in his last 17 at-bats and 1-for-29 since April 2, dropping his average to .070."

ragecagewow, I was just joking yesterday that I was surprised that Hank hadn't demanded that ever piece of concrete be ripped up until it was found. That Hank, he's all class.

bellyofthebeast The "Gino" that I met was no more than 6'1". I now have no doubt that there's stuff burried all over the new toilet. They'll never find the Sox/Mets batting helmets!

burstnbloom This is a perfect outcome. There is no course of action the Yankees could have taken to deal with this little joke that would make them look more incompetent and foolish than digging up the floor to take out the shirt. Well played, you morons.

Sille Skrub A 5 hour extraction? Seriously?The best part of this story will be when, just around the grand opening, Gino reveals that the Ortiz shirt wasn't the only item buried in the concrete.

TomRicardo This whole thing shows the incompetence of the Yankee management now. First they say it is a lie, then they spend thousands to unbury it and have extraction ceremony. Incredible way to make yourselfs look like assholes. It is even complete with a Hank quote.

The Napkin What would the Yankees do if someone sent a letter to the post and/or espn next week telling them they buried a shirt in a different part of the cement? Would they have another extraction ceremony?

Archer1979 I'm not sure how Gino pulled this off, but somehow he managed to make Hal and Hank (aka Dumb and Dumber) look like bigger buffoons than they were. The best thing that they could have done was ignored it, dismissed it, or dug it up and didn't report it. Instead, they've manage to come across as baseball's equivalent of the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.

Yaz4Ever I have no doubt there are plenty of things buried in the concrete of the new Yankee Stadium. None at all. I'm sure there were plenty of Yankee fans who put something in so they could quietly tell their kids about it someday - a little piece of them living on forever or a good-luck charm or both. The "cursing" angle allegedly pulled off by the Sox fan only works, however, if it is revealed. ... Forcing the Yankees to react somehow - Hank's calling him out as a punk, digging up the clubhouse foundation, etc. is the beauty in all of this. They've acknowledged it and admitted that it bothers them enough to incur expense (and ridicule) in removing it. If the Yankees have a poor year next year and other objects are alleged to be planted in the foundation, the curse will take root and evolve.The distraction this is causing for Yankee fans right now is humorous. Hank's reaction is gold. ... for however long it lasts, this guy was able to get under the collective skin of Yankee fans and that, in and of itself, is fun.

bellyofthebeast The helmets are in a pair of pretty cool spots, but the placement of commemorative WS coins is the best!

OCD SS ... your "Gino" can send out a tip/press release just before the new stadium's ribon cutting to say that he left all kinds of things burried. He tells them where they can find one item to prove he's not lying and then gives them a litst. It will aggravate MFY fans to no end...

TheYellowDart5 The ludicrous amount of attention this is getting should be embarrassing for the Yankees and their fans. Are they actually that spooked by this kind of idiocy?

Comfortably Lomb Did they consult with Shaughnessy before digging it up to see if removing the shirt makes things better or worse?

SoxFanSince57 Here is the truth...The MFY management buried a jersey and then discovered it, just to convince their fans that all was safe. But in actuality MFY management was only trying to stop this urban legend from growing further. They planted the jersey and then found it to pacify their already frantic fans. As CHB would say they stepped up with this phony story because "a chunk of their fan base is already in a lather."I also have heard "reliable" sources who swear that they deposited other RSN memorabilia in and under the new stadium when they worked on the construction.

E5 Yaz I absolutely believe this description of events.

RingoOSU They found it too quickly for it to be the supposed jersey buried last year. If it was buried in the first place, it could all very well be a publicity stunt. The name on the home jersey really makes it look suspicious.

bsj ... if you are gonna do something stupid like that, wait 5 years to tell anyone. At least wait until 2009 when its complete and no one wants to dig it up. Fucking retard.

MarkInLondon It's a shame the guy didn't announce he'd buried the shirt after the stadium opened - maybe straight after one of the Yankee players went down with a freak injury.

templeUsox This is stupid, but potentially cute story... As it is, they look pretty foolish holding 5 hour pressers to perform excavations on their new stadium while their team is getting roasted in Boston.

86spike I am hoping that Gino calls the Daily News today to tell them that the shirt he buried was not an Ortiz jersey. That would be the best move at this point.

"Why didn't the Sox have Crisp steal third immediately against Posada, who obviously couldn't throw?"

Jack--a 90 foot throw, even Jorge could handle. I mean, if he's reaching 2nd on two or three hops, that's still the equivalent of reaching third on a fly. We figured, A single is an automatic double, and that was good enough, considering we were ahead anyway.

On the front page of redsox dot com right now:

"Sandwiched between two October sweeps, the Red Sox endured a tough ALCS loss to the Indians. Tonight at 7:05 ET, the clubs renew acquaintances"

Huh? If they mean we lost A game to them, wouldn't they say "three losses"? My mem-ree ain't so hot, but I'm pretty sure we won the ALCS before going on to win the WS.

I really can't wait to see how little patience Hank and the NY media are going to show with the MFY youth movement. I mean, it's April - April - and there are already grumblings among the columnists that'll inevitably get louder with each bad (or even mediocre) start. With any luck, the MFY will compensate by

a) attempting to move Joba from the bullpen to the rotation in midseason ('he's not worth anything if these kids can't ever get the ball to him!') and, after a couple of Farnsworth 8th inning firestorms, quite possibly back to the pen

and b) vastly overpaying for a veteran who had a good year a few years ago (in the optimal version of this scenario, they actually trade away one of their young pitchers, in order to 'not make the same mistake' they made in their pursuit of Santana).